Bits & Bobs......

The sky and clouds for most of this week...

Finally got the seat cushions for the sunporch dining chairs recovered...decided to do two different fabrics...all ready to flip over for a new look....

Hens & Chicks back outside....

Deck at home all repaired...notice the new lattice wall...much better! The boards were rotten...you can see the new boards...and I had a large step removed...more deck space now..more work to be done in the fall...

2 Banana/blackberry/strawberry spice cakes all ready for the oven....yummy! Topped off with a combo of cinnamon,walnuts and brown sugar....

Pea Soup fresh from the slow cooker...also Yummy...I use a ham bone...How do you make pea soup?

The tiny Kalanchoe that just won't quit!!!

Raindrops on Peony leaves...

Best thing ever....I put clean flannel sheets on our bed at the cottage, when we were there last Saturday...All I have to do is crank up the electric blanket...and snuggle in...

Reflections in the back yard....as you can see...the pool cover is still on!!! perhaps we will open that next week...so much to do!!!

Jolly-jump-ups...♥️   She almost looks like an Iris!!

You can see a few of the paint-by-numbers I have collected on the wall...there are many more in one of the other bedrooms...I find they give a real cottagey feel...

The bedroom furniture came with the cottage...probably from the 20's...we painted the walls yellow...each bedroom is a different colour...we left the walls and ceiling the original wood...too much painting!!! No curtains....just blinds....when we bought the cottage there were heavy drapes in every room...we said good bye to those very quickly...My daughter painted the one dresser yellow for me...to match my room♥️ The mirror from that dresser is on the hall wall...you can see it to the left...The nightstand was stamped by my sister and I many moons ago...

Isn't our bedroom soooo cozy?? Looks out over the Lake....love when there is a full moon, and the room is lit up!!

Saved the best for last...Last night, after her bath...all snuggly in her housecoat...her sweet face aglow from Grandmas IPad...watching her favorite Bubble Guppies...or...Buppies as she calls it!♥️

                                                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   So...those were a few things from the past week...
   It is now Friday afternoon...
   The wind is blowing...the clouds are swirling...limited sunshine...
   Needless to say...we are not going to the cottage today...   :o(
   It will be even chillier out there...so...
   Home tonight...
   Cottage in the morning...
   Where there is...
       Wood to be chopped...
          Winter shutters to come off the sunporch...
            Perhaps the first lawn cut of the season...
               Chicken thighs to bake...
                   Pea soup to enjoy...
                         Perhaps some sunshine on the old bones...
                                          and...
                                                  Pictures to be taken.....
 

              Hope you all have a great long weekend...to my Canadian friends...
                   To the others...your time will come soon enough!

                                                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         On the menu this frosty Friday night...they say a frost warning!!!

             Leftover Summer Fresh Pasta...even better the 2nd time!
                Toasted Rosemary bread.....with parmesan cheese...
                    Greek Salad...
                         Lots of red wine...
                                       To drown my sorrows!!! hahaha!


                      Cheers!  :o)
                       linda

I Should Have Made A "TO DO" List....Like Martha & Betsy....

If I had been smart...

Like Martha..{Lookin' Up}...

And Betsy...{My Five Men}...

both in my sidebar...

I...would have made...

A...

To do..

List..for the  Summer...

It could have been a "Wish" TO DO list...like theirs...

But...

With NO list....

I have gotten kind of bogged down here...

Saying I will do "this'...or..."that"...and not accomplishing very much...

Shame on me...Get to work, Linda...quite fooling around...

              "It's Hammertime"!!!! hahaha!..

Well...today...I thought to myself..."self, you know that $4 piece of fabric you boought...like 2 months ago...to recover the kitchen chair cushions?"

"well...you are long overdue...how long will it take...maybe an hour of your precious time?"... 

"Get your sorry butt into your ironing/sewing/craft supplies/cupboard full of tablecloths room....and get to work"... 

This is how flat and tired they were...

Pretty pitiful, eh?

So...

First I cut the fabric to make a pouch to slip the old pitiful cushion into...

Coaxed them into their new home...

They are still flat and tired...


HMMMMMMM...

I remember something... 

I have had this bag of batting for about 100 years...

No time like the present!!!

A wee bit here...and a wee bit there..

Now...

That feels better...

A bit plumper on the old butt!! Ha! 

Now....i need 4 ties to attach to the chair...

I am pretty disappointed with the width of the ties...

But...

For $4...whatareyougonnado???

And...

I had to hand sew them shut, as they were too fat and plump to fit back into the machine!!! 

I think hand-sewing is one of my LEAST favorite ways to spend my time...

But...a girls gotta do...what a girls gotta do...

Man...I am full of witty retorts {or full of something} tonight!!!

 I am going to look for a plain colored fabric to make better ties...

I wanted something a bit puffier...more floppy than this...

But....nonetheless....looks way better!!!

And it took WAAAYYY longer than an hour!!




After tidying up that mess...

I put the other "must dos"...

On the machine...

I still have outdoor fabric to use up...

That Raggedy Ann doll I cut out last Spring...

2 pairs of jeans to shorten for Erika...

And a pile of junk beside the machine!!

At least it is all tidied up for NOW!!!

Oh yeah...I almost forgot...Don't you just HATE it when you have to fill the Bobbin halfway thru your project....

Then I got a big ball of thread happening under the throat plate...

              ******AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH******

You almost have to be a sewing machine mechanic every time you try and do something... ok...I feel better now!!



Hope you all had a great ...productive day...

Heading out for dinner...Greek tonight...I am freed from the stove..

Except of course the chicken soup bubbling away for the weekend...

Enjoy the rest of your day...

What would you put on your "TO DO" list...if you were smart enough to make one!!!

Like Martha and Betsy....just 2 of my favorite bloggers...
Check them out in my sidebar...


                           Cheers!  :o)
                               linda

   

Haven't Done this for a while....

Only 2 more days left here in Florida....

Today is wicked...

Very high winds...

Lots of waves...

Cloudy skies....

Tornado warnings...YIKES!!

A great day...

To reflect on things that I have missed...

And will be able to do when I get back home safely...

I have missed my tea parties and my cakes with berries and yogurt...  

Can you believe I have not had a cup of tea in over a month????

I hope to ready that today, as I am sure my sweet Friend Linda will make me a cup of tea after our lunch with her and her husband today....

I have the fabric all ready to make Vivian a Raggedy Anne doll for her birthday in July....

This one will be soft pinks and greens....and warm furry fabrics...

Who ever said Anne had to be red and white????

Not sure what colour her hair will be....fun to think about!!!

I wonder how all my african violets are doing....

Are the birds tapping on the window looking for me and my boyfriend???

Where's the food, Linda.....get crackin'....hahaha...  

I miss our weekly trips to the Lake....to check things out...grab some lunch  

Visit a few thrift shops.....

BUt MOST of all....that  sweet little face of our Vivian....

It just gets cuter every day....and the personality is really coming alive...

Don't get me wrong....

I LOVE our time here....but....as Dorothy says...

"Theres no place like home"....I truly believe that....:o)    

 

And.....

I love all the time....

Spent....

Walking....

Gathering shells....

Splashing along in the waves...

With my Boyfriend....


Gosh....am i sappy today or what???

TIme to exit this post....before I get you all to pull out your hankies!!!


Enjoy your day....and for those of you snowed in...a cup of tea, cake with berries and yogurt will surely help....  


Lunch at our friends place....some Marshall's shopping...and something
out to eat.....


Enjoy your day.....

                    Cheers!  :o)
                        linda

Hooded Bath Towel.....Remember???

When my kids were babies....many moons ago...
I had an Aunt Honor, who was an expert seamstress, knitter, smocker....you name it, she did it.

She always made the new babies, a bath towel, with a hood attached, among many other hand made items. Always knitted beautiful sweaters, and made my girls matching smocked dresses every Christmas. They had dresses every color of the rainbow. She even smocked my son a romper, one year, to match my oldest girls dress....navy blue with white smocking....I must get those old photos out, and get my son to hook up the scanner for me....what fun I could have with that!!!tee hee hee...

I have very warm memories of Aunt Honor...who was actually my Mothers cousin, so technically, not really an Aunt...but none the less..a wonderful person.

A few months back, I searched the internet for a pattern for this  " thing" ,a hooded bath towel.... that I had such fond memories of.

Well....I found a lovely ladies blog, with a picture tutorial on how to make the combo.

Finding the perfect towel and wash cloth became a bigger task. All the towels at Homesense were way too big...But I found this lovely coral one at WalMart...and got to work..

I think the rick-rack added a whimsical touch...

I think it came out pretty darn good...

And I am sure Aunt Honor would be pleased with my finished product...

Here is Vivian 5 days old....my other daughter and I were watching her, and we found this hat [I had given her] and we had to take a few pictures....

                                   What a Doll!!!!

                Hope you all had a great day...lots of rain for the garden..


                                        Cheers!  :o)
                                                linda

A Small Addition & Some Orange.....

A few weeks back, I added a skirt to 
my farm sink at the cottage.

It really added a lot of charm to the room.

I had a long skinny piece left over,
so I decided to make a small valance
for above the sink.

I think it really pulled the look together.

We actually take the inside windows off for the summer, and just go with the screens. A lot less bulky.

What do you think??? :o) 

I always put my tomatoes and avacados in the window sill...to get the sun..

I keep this stuff on the ledge near the pass thru to the sunporch...

These are my "double" daylilies...don't know the name, just know they are really frilly....

A few of my bright orange marigolds at home...

Hope you all had a great day....

                   It is finally raining....and a lot of thunder...

                                 Hopefully this humidity will break...

                                         Cheers!            :o)
                                                 linda